News broke over the weekend that the Washington Commanders desperately called around the league last offseason in search of a franchise quarterback.
The Commanders were so desperate for a solution under center that the team phoned former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who hadn’t played a down of football since January 2019 and inquired about his availability. Obviously, Luck turned down their overtures, as the Commanders were left with Carson Wentz as their lone option. And we all know how that turned out.
Still, the Commanders’ search for a quarterback has highlighted a bigger problem. On Sunday, Warren Sharp tweeted out a stunning statistic that shocked those in the NFL world. Over the last five years, the Commanders have led the league with 12 different starting quarterbacks. The second-closest team to that amount is the Denver Broncos, who have started nine different QBs over that same span.
number of starting QBs the last 5 years
12 – WAS
11
10
9 – DEN
8 – IND, MIA
7 – CHI, JAX, NYJ, CAR, NO
6 – CLE, ARI, NYG, BAL, HOU
5 – SF, CIN, DAL, DET, NE, LAR, PIT, TEN
4 – PHI, ATL
3 – BUF, TB, LAC, KC, LV
2 – GB, SEA, MIN— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) May 7, 2023
Since 2018, Washington has had 12 different quarterbacks — Alex Smith, Josh Johnson, Colt McCoy, Mark Sanchez, Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Garrett Gilbert, Carson Wentz and Sam Howell — make at least one start for the franchise.
While the Commanders plan to move forward with Howell as their starting quarterback of the future, those numbers are a horrifying reality for a franchise that’s been in quarterback purgatory ever since Kirk Cousins left town.
The NFL world reacted to the horrible Commanders news on social media:
Washington has had a bad run of luck. Didn’t they have a franchise tag caliber QB that they mistakenly thought they could improve upon. #Skol https://t.co/C80v70uiyl
— VikingsDaily (@VikingsDaily) May 8, 2023
Commanders are number one in something! https://t.co/mErVsJk342
— ßΞИJΛM!И (@_ItsBenjiMan) May 8, 2023
We are high on so many lists. Very few are anything good. https://t.co/DJL8C2bkWp
— Patrick (@bankboy24) May 8, 2023
This is why they called Luck https://t.co/DIQEkKs9us
— ✌🏾 (@theejamieson) May 8, 2023
Shows how difficult it is to find a franchise QB. When you have one, keep him. https://t.co/Obm5hp5NgM
— Devon Lloyd (@DLloydTV) May 8, 2023
[Warren Sharp on Twitter]
